1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to carrying devices and, in particular, to a golf club and accessory carrier and holder which retains a plurality of golf clubs, balls and tees, a ball marker, and a score keeping pencil.
2. Description of Prior Art
A wide variety of means are utilized to retain and transport golf clubs and accessories during a round of golf. The devices range from mechanized golf carts and cumbersome golf bags to devices for carrying a few clubs. Although in tournament play as well as recreational matches it may be necessary to have a full set of golf clubs plus accessories and therefore a golf bag and cart, many times it is not necessary to carry a full set and less than eight clubs with a few accessories will suffice. In addition to greatly reducing the weight which must be carried during play, the expense of a full set of clubs and a bag may be prohibitive to the beginning golfer. In fact, youth golf club sets are typically configured with less than six clubs. Thus, it can be advantageous for the beginning golfer or when a quick practice round is desired for the veteran golfer, to carry and retain only a minimum number of clubs and accessories during the round. Generally, all that is required may be a driver, a putter, two irons, and a couple of balls and tees. In addition, when a golfer travels to a practice range or golf simulator, they often only bring a few clubs and accessories to use.
Noting the need for a simple device to carry a minimum number of golf clubs and accessories, prior art devices for this purpose have been developed and range widely in their versatility and function. Most prior art carriers utilize one or more tubes, which accept the shaft of the club, to carry several clubs. These tubes are generally aligned parallel to one another in order to separate the clubs and are relatively long to prevent the clubs from slipping out of the carrier. The length and width of these tubes increase the size and weight of the carrier and many such carriers approach the bulkiness of a golf bag. Moreover, the length of the tubes does not prevent the clubs from falling from the carrier when the device is inverted or tilted at a severe angle. Additionally, these carriers do not hold the clubs snugly in place allowing them to rotate around while transporting the carrier. This allows the club heads to hit each other causing damage. In addition, these parts are generally made of multiple components making them relatively expensive to manufacture and assemble, therefore they approach the cost of a conventional golf bag.
Other prior art devices utilize a series of clips that fit around the club shaft to retain the clubs. Generally, these clips are secured to a metal or plastic frame for support. However, in the devices of this type known to applicant, the grips of the clubs are prevented from contacting the ground and turf by driving one or more spikes into the turf to support the carrier. Repeatedly placing and removing the spiked carrier causes wear on the turf, which is undesirable at a golf course. Also such carriers depend upon good penetration of the spikes into the ground and if the ground is hard, this may be difficult to achieve. In addition, these carriers are made of multiple components making them relatively expensive to manufacture and assemble, therefore they approach the cost of a conventional golf bag.
Small golf bags have been manufactured that only hold a few clubs and accessories. The difficulty with such bags is that they do not firmly hold the clubs and therefore the clubs bang each other during transportation and can be damaged. In addition, these bags generally only contain one pocket for accessories. The user can not easily identify and retrieve the desired accessory because they are all mixed together. For example, if the user desires to quickly retrieve a small ball marker or a certain size tee to fit the conditions of the ground he must unzip the pocket and search through an array of balls, tees, ball markers, and pencils to find the one he needs. These bags are also expensive, bulky and difficult to load into an automobile making them impractical for the typical user.
There are also carriers with a rack type structure that allows the user to carry clubs and accessories. However, these carriers are generally made up of a number of individual components that must be assembled together. This greatly increases the cost of the units making them relatively expensive for the common golfer. In addition, generally these carriers are not designed to hold clubs, balls, tees, a ball marker and a pencil together in a compact package. The one-piece carriers of this type require expensive molds that incorporate slides and carns.
Therefore, a compact, lightweight, one-piece, partial golf club set and accessory carrier that can be easily and inexpensively molded is desired. The present carriers that will accommodate a partial set of golf clubs and accessories do not contain all of these qualities.